and says many fine things finely in this refreshing and stimulating book

MYSTERY DISCUSSION GROUP

Origin: A Langdon Novel by Dan Brown

Robert Langdon, Harvard professor of symbology and religious iconology, arrives at the ultramodern Guggenheim Museum Bilbao to attend a major announcement—the unveiling of a discovery that “will change the face of science forever.”. ... Reeling and facing an imminent threat ...

CLIO'S CHRONICLERS

Inside in the Kingdom: Kings, Clerics, Modernists, and Terrorists,

and a struggle for Saudi Arabia by Robert Lacey

Though Saudi Arabia sits on one of the richest oil deposits in the world, it also produced fifteen of the nineteen 9/11 hijackers. In this immensely important book, journalist Robert Lacey draws on years of access to every circle of Saudi society giving readers the fullest portrait yet of a land straddling the worlds of medievalism and modernity. Moving from the bloody seizure of Mecca’s Grand Mosque in 1979, through the Persian Gulf War, to the delicate U.S.-Saudi relations in a post 9/11 world, Inside the Kingdom brings recent history to vivid life and offers a powerful story of a country learning how not to be at war with itself.

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Book Discussion Group

*{There is no fee, however, all titles selected must be purchased at Centuries & Sleuths to be part of the Discussion Group & voice your opinion on the assigned book.}

Description

Hector Belascoaran Shayne has danced with the dead. Luke Estrella does the rumba in white patent leather shoes. Together, they make the perfect pair to lead each other into an inferno under an azure Acapulco sky: a hell populated by mariachis and machine guns, incompetent bikini contest judges, and at least one killer who is closer to Hector than he thinks....

Praise for Return to the Same City…

"Taibo's novels...are an addicting import. ...part of a beguiling worldview in which everything, including crime and love, are elements in a cosmic joke."--Publishers Weekly

This may well be Belloc's most interesting work. It includes Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth I, St. Thomas More, Cranmer, Calvin, Mary Tudor ("Bloody Mary"), Mary Stuart ("Queen of Scots"), Cardinal Richelieu and many others--23 in all--analyzing their strengths, weaknesses, motives and mistakes and showing how this or that seemingly insignificant factor actually changed the course of history. An amazing book!

Title to Be Discussed: Berlin Games (1936) How the Nazis Stole the Olympic Dream

Author: Guy Walters

*{There is no fee. However, all titles selected must be purchased at Centuries & Sleuths to be part of the Discussion Group & voice your opinion on the assigned book.}

Description

IN 1936, Adolf Hitler welcomed the world to Berlin to attend the Olympic Games. It promised to be not only a magnificent sporting event but also a grand showcase for the rebuilt Germany. No effort was spared to present the Third Reich as the newest global power. But beneath the glittering surface, the Games of the Eleventh Olympiad of the Modern Era came to act as a crucible for the dark political forces that were gathering, foreshadowing the bloody conflict to come.

The 1936 Olympics were nothing less than the most political sporting event of the last century—an epic clash between proponents of barbarism and those of civilization, both of whom tried to use the Games to promote their own values. Berlin Games is the complete history of those fateful two weeks in August. It is a story of the athletes and their accomplishments, an eye-opening account of the Nazi machine's brazen attempt to use the Games as a model of Aryan superiority and fascist efficiency, and a devastating indictment of the manipulative power games of politicians, diplomats, and Olympic officials that would ultimately have profound consequences for the entire world.

*{There is no fee, however, all titles selected must be purchased at Centuries & Sleuths to be part of the Discussion Group & voice your opinion on the assigned book.}

Description

The haunting follow up to the Edgar Award-winning debut In the Woods

Tana French astonished critics and readers alike with her mesmerizing debut novel, In the Woods. Now both French and Detective Cassie Maddox return to unravel a case even more sinister and enigmatic than the first. Six months after the events of In the Woods, an urgent telephone call beckons Cassie to a grisly crime scene. The victim looks exactly like Cassie and carries ID identifying herself as Alexandra Madison, an alias Cassie once used. Suddenly, Cassie must discover not only who killed this girl, but, more importantly, who is this girl? A disturbing tale of shifting identities, The Likeness firmly establishes Tana French as an important voice in suspense fiction.

About the Author

Tana French grew up in Ireland, Italy, the US and Malawi, and has lived in Dublin since 1990. She trained as a professional actress at Trinity College, Dublin, and has worked in theatre, film and voiceover.

*{There is no fee, however, all titles selected must be purchased at Centuries & Sleuths to be part of the Discussion Group & voice your opinion on the assigned book.}

Description

On the success of his two bestselling books about World War II, James Bradley began to wonder what the real catalyst was for the Pacific War. What he discovered shocked him.

In 1905 President Teddy Roosevelt dispatched Secretary of War William Taft, his daughter Alice, and a gaggle of congressmen on a mission to Japan, the Philippines, China, and Korea with the intent of forging an agreement to divide up Asia. This clandestine pact lit the fuse that would-decades later-result in a number of devastating wars: WWII, the Korean War, and the communist revolution in China.

In 2005, James Bradley retraced that epic voyage and discovered the remarkable truth about America's vast imperial past. Full of fascinating characters brought brilliantly to life, The Imperial Cruise will powerfully revise the way we understand U.S. history.

About the Author

James Bradley is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Flyboys and Flags of Our Fathers and the son of one of the men who raised the American flag on Iwo Jima. He lives in New York.

Praise for The Imperial Cruise: A Secret History of Empire and War…

PRAISE FOR THE IMPERIAL CRUISE:

"Incendiary...[The Imperial Cruise] is startling enough to reshape conventional wisdom about Roosevelt's presidency."
-New York Times

"A provocative study...What is fascinating about Bradley's reconstruction of a largely neglected aspect of Roosevelt's legacy is the impact that his racial theories and his obsession with personal and national virility had on his diplomacy. Engrossing and revelatory, The Imperial Cruise is revisionist history at its best."
-New York Times Book Review

*{There is no fee, however, all titles selected must be purchased at Centuries & Sleuths to be part of the Discussion Group & voice your opinion on the assigned book.}

Description

In the concluding volume of Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy, Lisbeth Salander lies in critical condition in a Swedish hospital, a bullet in her head.

But she's fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she'll stand trial for three murders. With the help of Mikael Blomkvist, she'll need to identify those in authority who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to suffer abuse and violence. And, on her own, she'll seek revenge--against the man who tried to killer her and against the corrupt government institutions that nearly destroyed her life.

About the Author

Stieg Larsson,who lived in Sweden, was the editor in chief of the magazine Expo and a leading expert on antidemocratic, right-wing extremist and Nazi organizations. He died in 2004, shortly after delivering the manuscripts for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.

Praise for The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest: Book 3 of the Millennium Trilogy…

“Gripping. . . . Lisbeth Salander . . . is one of the most original characters in a thriller to come along in a while.”—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

“Larsson’s vivid characters, the depth of detail across three books, the powerfully imaginative plot, and the sheer verve of the writing make the trilogy a masterpiece of the genre.”—The Economist

“The literary equivalent of a caffeine rush. . . . Larsson was one of those rare writers who could keep you up until 3 a.m. and then make you want to rush home the next night to do it again.” —Newsweek

“Salander is someone you will never forget. . . . Anyone who enjoys grounding their imaginations in hundreds . . . of exciting pages about the way we live now ought to take advantage of this trilogy.” —Chicago Tribune

“Enough twists to keep even the most astute reader guessing.” —The Denver Post“Complex, satisfying, clever, moral . . . This is a grown-up novel for grown-up readers, who want something more than a quick fix and a car chase.” —The Guardian (London)

“An old-fashioned, well-paced political thriller with its roots in Swedish history and a cast of interesting and colorful characters.” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“Reading Stieg Larsson produces a kind of rush—rather like a strong cup of coffee.” —The New York Times Book Review

*{There is no fee, however, all titles selected must be purchased at Centuries & Sleuths
to be part of the Discussion Group & voice your opinion on the assigned book.}

Description

At a time when men and women were prepared to kill—and be killed—for their faith, the Reformation tore the Western world apart. Acclaimed as the definitive account of these epochal events, Diarmaid MacCulloch’s award-winning new history brilliantly re-creates the religious battles of priests, monarchs, scholars, and politicians—from the zealous Martin Luther to the radical Loyola, from the tortured Cranmer to the ambitious Philip II.

Drawing together the many strands of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, and ranging widely across Europe and the New World, MacCulloch reveals as never before how these dramatic upheavals affected everyday lives—overturning ideas of love, sex, death, and the supernatural, and shaping the modern age.

*{There is no fee, however, all titles selected must be purchased at Centuries & Sleuths to be part of the Discussion Group & voice your opinion on the assigned book.}

Description

Charles Lenox, Victorian gentleman and armchair explorer, likes nothing more than to relax in his private study with a cup of tea, a roaring fire and a good book. But when his lifelong friend Lady Jane asks for his help, Lenox cannot resist the chance to unravel a mystery.

Prudence Smith, one of Jane’s former servants, is dead of an apparent suicide. But Lenox suspects something far more sinister: murder, by a rare and deadly poison. The grand house where the girl worked is full of suspects, and though Prue had dabbled with the hearts of more than a few men, Lenox is baffled by the motive for the girl’s death.

When another body turns up during the London season’s most fashionable ball, Lenox must untangle a web of loyalties and animosities. Was it jealousy that killed Prudence Smith? Or was it something else entirely? And can Lenox find the answer before the killer strikes again—this time, disturbingly close to home?

About the Author

Charles Finch is a graduate of Yale and Oxford. His first novel, A Beautiful Blue Death, was named one of Library Journal’s Best Books of 2007, one of only five mystery novels on the list. He lives in New York.

Praise for A Beautiful Blue Death…

“Vividly capturing the essence of Victorian England, Finch presents us with a unique sleuth who combines the deductive powers of Sherlock Holmes with the people skills of Thomas Pitt. A sparkling achievement.” —Library Journal (starred review)

Topic: MWA at Centuries & Sleuths will be participating with the MWA meeting being conducted in Cleveland, OH via WiFi. (Guess what? It's less than a week until Chicago's Printers Row Lit Fest June 9-10th.)

'Centuries & Sleuths Bookstore's Bestsellers'

Calendar of Events:

Scene At Centuries & Sleuths Bookstore

Max & Barbara Collins and Brad Schwarz at C & S in August

Sara Paretsky in October!

Libby Fischer-Hellmann & Victoria Thompson in November..

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